Dr. Mohammad Raihan Sharif | Washington State University (original) (raw)
Papers by Dr. Mohammad Raihan Sharif
Harvest: Jahangirnagar Studies in Language and Literature , 2023
Hijras are one of several forms of transgender people who have resided in Bangladesh since antiq... more Hijras are one of several forms of transgender people who have
resided in Bangladesh since antiquity. They continue to be
viewed as cursed and a nuisance, which forces them to make
hazardous and frequently dangerous decisions. Their exclusion
from heteronormative families and their isolated and unique
existence within their groups are frequently cited as reasons for
the
public’s misunderstanding of them. Due to this
misunderstanding, negative stereotypes, dread, and hostility
toward Hijras emerge. The dearth of opportunities compels Hijras
to pursue unanticipated paths. The present study investigates
these misconceptions about Hijras. This study employs a Critical
Discourse
Analysis (CDA) of Hijra-related concepts,
conceptions, and attitudes as reported in several extensively
circulated Bangladeshi newspapers. Accepting Hijras into
mainstream culture, according to the study, is the first step in
dispelling false beliefs about Hijras. This acceptance is, however,
hindered by a pervasive misunderstanding of Hijras, their
identities, issues, and challenges. If identified through a Critical
Discourse Analysis of Hijra depiction in specific newspapers, this
misunderstanding has the potential to assist us in unlearning fear,
prejudice, and hatred against Hijras. Consequently, we may be
able to develop more efficient approaches and policies for Hijras.
Harvest: Jahangirnagar University Studies in Language and Literature , 2022
How to understand the patterns and practices of Urbanization in Dhaka? How do the numerous develo... more How to understand the patterns and practices of Urbanization in Dhaka? How do the numerous development projects in Dhaka shape spaces and lifestyles of dwellers of Dhaka? How do the acts, routines, and practices of Dhakaites in their everyday life get shaped by the spatial management in Dhaka and, in a reciprocal way, how do the Dhakaites themselves take part in this spatial management? With some interesting questions like this, a Lefebvrian analysis can reveal some useful conflicts and conjectures-significant insights on the interactions and exchanges between spaces and lives that can help us rethink the spatial construction, management, and maintenance involved in the urbanization in Dhaka. With this hypothesis as a point of departure, the present research theoretically engages Lefebvre's spatial triad and his ideas of Abstract Spaces and Differential Spaces. Practically, it collects data on 'the spatial constructions in Dhaka' and their management, and maintenance. These data help identify the points of conflicts and conjectures between spaces and lives in Dhaka, and, in the process, critically examine the patterns and practices of Urbanization in Dhaka. Methodologically, the project integrates an inquiry into ideas of space to understand urbanization in Dhaka. In doing so, the paper develops a theoretical frame-Space and Differential Spaces. This framework would help analyses on Urbanization in Dhaka.
disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 2016
Follow this and additional works at: http://uknowledge.uky.edu/disclosure Part of the American Po... more Follow this and additional works at: http://uknowledge.uky.edu/disclosure Part of the American Politics Commons, Asian American Studies Commons, Asian Studies Commons, Comparative Politics Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Human Geography Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, Other American Studies Commons, and the Other International and Area Studies Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License.
Global youth migration and gendered modalities, 2019
In asylum cases, some western countries use global gay discourses and teleological developmental ... more In asylum cases, some western countries use global gay discourses and teleological developmental narratives to (mis)recognise non-Western queerness. This paper investigates a number of queer asylum cases to explain how the set conditions for a queer asylum status in those countries tend to reinforce homonationalist ideologies underpinned by global gay discourses. Consequently, some non-Western queers are compelled to bring forth a particular brand of personal disaster spectacle that validates ingrained imperialist Islamophobia in host countries and beyond. The paper argues that under the rubrics of provable persecution, the shock value in the personal disaster spectacle of Muslim queers in their home countries is utilized to validate another pervasive violence: reinforcement of Islamophobic ideologies that are used to justify the ‘war on terror’.
All ages deal with the debate between reform and revolution in the contexts of their distinctive ... more All ages deal with the debate between reform and revolution in the contexts of their distinctive challenges, problems, and prospects. While reflecting on today’s sociopolitical realities in the U.S., this paper identifies a theoretical stagnancy in academia that deters any radical praxis for revolution. Addressing some key theoretical stances within the reform/revolution dyad, the paper argues that any criticism of “revolution in a linear future” is no easy approval for “reform in a static present” either. Also, replacing the “apocalyptic future” with the “here and now” of the progressive present is perhaps inadequate without critically reflecting on the “quality” of the “present”. This paper does not recommend any specific prescriptive means but outlines a speculative prospect of “here and now” for revolution. It critiques theoretical stances of a number of postcolonial and poststructuralist thinkers and argues that these stances eventually get appropriated within the hegemonic ref...
While the academia is producing critical theories and students and scholars are receiving and app... more While the academia is producing critical theories and students and scholars are receiving and applying them in analyses of texts, a grave concern emerges at least for two reasons: whether these critical theories are committed to social changes and whether these critical theories gets applied in the struggle for social justice. This article examines the recent trajectories, trends, and tendencies of critical theories in academia and suggests what kind of critical theories can be adopted for social changes.
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science , 2022
The present paper critiques the recurring fetishization and glorification of micropolitics in soc... more The present paper critiques the recurring fetishization and glorification of micropolitics in social justice projects as they get theorized, received, and celebrated in academia, especially in American studies. Presenting the theoretical contexts of micropolitics, the paper critiques American studies scholars' investment in those theoretical concepts that, in the name of evading manipulation, reinforces subservience for the weak and the oppressed.
In asylum cases, some western countries use global gay discourses and teleological developmental ... more In asylum cases, some western countries use global gay discourses and teleological developmental narratives to (mis)recognise non-Western queerness. This paper investigates a number of queer asylum cases to explain how the set conditions for a queer asylum status in those countries tend to reinforce homonationalist ideologies underpinned by global gay discourses. Consequently, some non-Western queers are compelled to bring forth a particular brand of personal disaster spectacle that validates ingrained imperialist Islamophobia in host countries and beyond. The paper argues that under the rubrics of provable persecution, the shock value in the personal disaster spectacle of Muslim queers in their home countries is utilized to validate another pervasive violence: reinforcement of Islamophobic ideologies that are used to justify the 'war on terror'. In September 2012, an Afghan man who had converted from Islam to Christianity was granted asylum in Denmark. 1 This set a new precedent, because the man in question was not persecuted in Afghanistan before seeking asylum; historically, tribunals assessing asylum cases have refused asylum to applicants without persecution stories. In this case, the refugee appeals board in Denmark argued that it is a basic human right to practice Christianity openly, rather than reiterating the commonly used prescriptive direction to asylum seekers that they maintain discreet practice in order to avoid persecution in their home country. This stands in stark contrast to the treatment of brown queers seeking asylum in Western countries, where they must show evidence of persecution before their cases can be considered. In the case of the Afghan Christian, the refugee appeals board in Denmark gave asylum as a means to avoid persecution. This article demonstrates the bias of some Western nations' asylum processes against brown queers, and argues that this is tied to Western preconceptions about what it means to be queer. Methodologically, it positions itself at the intersections of sociological and legal analysis which brings into conversation laws regarding homosexuality in Bangladesh, asylum laws to protect homosexuals in some developed countries and the lived realities and miseries of brown queers both within and outside legal frames. Some case studies of queer asylum cases are presented as an attempt to examine this tripartite dialogue. Global gay discourse and teleological developmental narrative of queerness situate non-Western queerness as not queer enough. The case studies presented show that both global gay discourse and teleological developmental narratives tend
Beyond metropolises and within transnational contexts, investigating hybridity discourses is long... more Beyond metropolises and within transnational contexts, investigating hybridity discourses is long overdue. This article argues that the epistemic violence embedded in such discourse has grave implications for the very impoverished nations and peoples with whom it claims solidarity and that, because this discourse is trendy in academia, its service to neoliberal capitalism is both easy to miss and important to expose. Interstices of postcolonial hybridity discourses, development discourses, and environmental justice discourses—dominant versions of which are segregated from contextual issues—as produced in Western academia and exported to third world countries for appropriation as developmental efforts—reveal epistemic violence, the manipulation of a knowledge-power tryst by developed countries in an attempt to materialize their neoimperialist desire under rubrics of developmental myths.
All ages deal with the debate between reform and revolution in the contexts of their distinctive ... more All ages deal with the debate between reform and revolution in the contexts of their distinctive challenges, problems, and prospects. While reflecting on today's socio-political realities in the U.S., this paper identifies a theoretical stagnancy in academia that deters any radical praxis for revolution. Addressing some key theoretical stances within the reform/revolution dyad, the paper argues that any criticism of " revolution in a linear future " is no easy approval for " reform in a static present " either. Also, replacing the " apocalyptic future " with the " here and now " of the progressive present is perhaps inadequate without critically reflecting on the " quality " of the " present ". This paper does not recommend any specific prescriptive means but outlines a speculative prospect of " here and now " for revolution. It critiques theoretical stances of a number of postcolonial and poststructuralist thinkers and argues that these stances eventually get appropriated within the hegemonic reform-based justice underpinning neoliberalism. It argues that using the work of Henry Lefebvre, David Harvey, and Doreen Massey, a spatiotemporal dialectic for revolution can be developed which in turn also embraces revolutionary visions of Alain Badiou. The paper explains how this dialectic reveals an inadequacy in the politics of reform and adjustment within theories of James C Scott, Michel de Certeau, Homi K Bhabha, Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze. It shows how liberal justice discourses that routinely promote reform in an attempt to misguide revolutionary potentials manage to find a comfort zone in the politics of difference. Specifically, the paper invests in the interstice between two types of theories to queer the longstanding reform-revolution dyad..
Harvest: Jahangirnagar Studies in Language and Literature , 2023
Hijras are one of several forms of transgender people who have resided in Bangladesh since antiq... more Hijras are one of several forms of transgender people who have
resided in Bangladesh since antiquity. They continue to be
viewed as cursed and a nuisance, which forces them to make
hazardous and frequently dangerous decisions. Their exclusion
from heteronormative families and their isolated and unique
existence within their groups are frequently cited as reasons for
the
public’s misunderstanding of them. Due to this
misunderstanding, negative stereotypes, dread, and hostility
toward Hijras emerge. The dearth of opportunities compels Hijras
to pursue unanticipated paths. The present study investigates
these misconceptions about Hijras. This study employs a Critical
Discourse
Analysis (CDA) of Hijra-related concepts,
conceptions, and attitudes as reported in several extensively
circulated Bangladeshi newspapers. Accepting Hijras into
mainstream culture, according to the study, is the first step in
dispelling false beliefs about Hijras. This acceptance is, however,
hindered by a pervasive misunderstanding of Hijras, their
identities, issues, and challenges. If identified through a Critical
Discourse Analysis of Hijra depiction in specific newspapers, this
misunderstanding has the potential to assist us in unlearning fear,
prejudice, and hatred against Hijras. Consequently, we may be
able to develop more efficient approaches and policies for Hijras.
Harvest: Jahangirnagar University Studies in Language and Literature , 2022
How to understand the patterns and practices of Urbanization in Dhaka? How do the numerous develo... more How to understand the patterns and practices of Urbanization in Dhaka? How do the numerous development projects in Dhaka shape spaces and lifestyles of dwellers of Dhaka? How do the acts, routines, and practices of Dhakaites in their everyday life get shaped by the spatial management in Dhaka and, in a reciprocal way, how do the Dhakaites themselves take part in this spatial management? With some interesting questions like this, a Lefebvrian analysis can reveal some useful conflicts and conjectures-significant insights on the interactions and exchanges between spaces and lives that can help us rethink the spatial construction, management, and maintenance involved in the urbanization in Dhaka. With this hypothesis as a point of departure, the present research theoretically engages Lefebvre's spatial triad and his ideas of Abstract Spaces and Differential Spaces. Practically, it collects data on 'the spatial constructions in Dhaka' and their management, and maintenance. These data help identify the points of conflicts and conjectures between spaces and lives in Dhaka, and, in the process, critically examine the patterns and practices of Urbanization in Dhaka. Methodologically, the project integrates an inquiry into ideas of space to understand urbanization in Dhaka. In doing so, the paper develops a theoretical frame-Space and Differential Spaces. This framework would help analyses on Urbanization in Dhaka.
disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 2016
Follow this and additional works at: http://uknowledge.uky.edu/disclosure Part of the American Po... more Follow this and additional works at: http://uknowledge.uky.edu/disclosure Part of the American Politics Commons, Asian American Studies Commons, Asian Studies Commons, Comparative Politics Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Human Geography Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, Other American Studies Commons, and the Other International and Area Studies Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License.
Global youth migration and gendered modalities, 2019
In asylum cases, some western countries use global gay discourses and teleological developmental ... more In asylum cases, some western countries use global gay discourses and teleological developmental narratives to (mis)recognise non-Western queerness. This paper investigates a number of queer asylum cases to explain how the set conditions for a queer asylum status in those countries tend to reinforce homonationalist ideologies underpinned by global gay discourses. Consequently, some non-Western queers are compelled to bring forth a particular brand of personal disaster spectacle that validates ingrained imperialist Islamophobia in host countries and beyond. The paper argues that under the rubrics of provable persecution, the shock value in the personal disaster spectacle of Muslim queers in their home countries is utilized to validate another pervasive violence: reinforcement of Islamophobic ideologies that are used to justify the ‘war on terror’.
All ages deal with the debate between reform and revolution in the contexts of their distinctive ... more All ages deal with the debate between reform and revolution in the contexts of their distinctive challenges, problems, and prospects. While reflecting on today’s sociopolitical realities in the U.S., this paper identifies a theoretical stagnancy in academia that deters any radical praxis for revolution. Addressing some key theoretical stances within the reform/revolution dyad, the paper argues that any criticism of “revolution in a linear future” is no easy approval for “reform in a static present” either. Also, replacing the “apocalyptic future” with the “here and now” of the progressive present is perhaps inadequate without critically reflecting on the “quality” of the “present”. This paper does not recommend any specific prescriptive means but outlines a speculative prospect of “here and now” for revolution. It critiques theoretical stances of a number of postcolonial and poststructuralist thinkers and argues that these stances eventually get appropriated within the hegemonic ref...
While the academia is producing critical theories and students and scholars are receiving and app... more While the academia is producing critical theories and students and scholars are receiving and applying them in analyses of texts, a grave concern emerges at least for two reasons: whether these critical theories are committed to social changes and whether these critical theories gets applied in the struggle for social justice. This article examines the recent trajectories, trends, and tendencies of critical theories in academia and suggests what kind of critical theories can be adopted for social changes.
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science , 2022
The present paper critiques the recurring fetishization and glorification of micropolitics in soc... more The present paper critiques the recurring fetishization and glorification of micropolitics in social justice projects as they get theorized, received, and celebrated in academia, especially in American studies. Presenting the theoretical contexts of micropolitics, the paper critiques American studies scholars' investment in those theoretical concepts that, in the name of evading manipulation, reinforces subservience for the weak and the oppressed.
In asylum cases, some western countries use global gay discourses and teleological developmental ... more In asylum cases, some western countries use global gay discourses and teleological developmental narratives to (mis)recognise non-Western queerness. This paper investigates a number of queer asylum cases to explain how the set conditions for a queer asylum status in those countries tend to reinforce homonationalist ideologies underpinned by global gay discourses. Consequently, some non-Western queers are compelled to bring forth a particular brand of personal disaster spectacle that validates ingrained imperialist Islamophobia in host countries and beyond. The paper argues that under the rubrics of provable persecution, the shock value in the personal disaster spectacle of Muslim queers in their home countries is utilized to validate another pervasive violence: reinforcement of Islamophobic ideologies that are used to justify the 'war on terror'. In September 2012, an Afghan man who had converted from Islam to Christianity was granted asylum in Denmark. 1 This set a new precedent, because the man in question was not persecuted in Afghanistan before seeking asylum; historically, tribunals assessing asylum cases have refused asylum to applicants without persecution stories. In this case, the refugee appeals board in Denmark argued that it is a basic human right to practice Christianity openly, rather than reiterating the commonly used prescriptive direction to asylum seekers that they maintain discreet practice in order to avoid persecution in their home country. This stands in stark contrast to the treatment of brown queers seeking asylum in Western countries, where they must show evidence of persecution before their cases can be considered. In the case of the Afghan Christian, the refugee appeals board in Denmark gave asylum as a means to avoid persecution. This article demonstrates the bias of some Western nations' asylum processes against brown queers, and argues that this is tied to Western preconceptions about what it means to be queer. Methodologically, it positions itself at the intersections of sociological and legal analysis which brings into conversation laws regarding homosexuality in Bangladesh, asylum laws to protect homosexuals in some developed countries and the lived realities and miseries of brown queers both within and outside legal frames. Some case studies of queer asylum cases are presented as an attempt to examine this tripartite dialogue. Global gay discourse and teleological developmental narrative of queerness situate non-Western queerness as not queer enough. The case studies presented show that both global gay discourse and teleological developmental narratives tend
Beyond metropolises and within transnational contexts, investigating hybridity discourses is long... more Beyond metropolises and within transnational contexts, investigating hybridity discourses is long overdue. This article argues that the epistemic violence embedded in such discourse has grave implications for the very impoverished nations and peoples with whom it claims solidarity and that, because this discourse is trendy in academia, its service to neoliberal capitalism is both easy to miss and important to expose. Interstices of postcolonial hybridity discourses, development discourses, and environmental justice discourses—dominant versions of which are segregated from contextual issues—as produced in Western academia and exported to third world countries for appropriation as developmental efforts—reveal epistemic violence, the manipulation of a knowledge-power tryst by developed countries in an attempt to materialize their neoimperialist desire under rubrics of developmental myths.
All ages deal with the debate between reform and revolution in the contexts of their distinctive ... more All ages deal with the debate between reform and revolution in the contexts of their distinctive challenges, problems, and prospects. While reflecting on today's socio-political realities in the U.S., this paper identifies a theoretical stagnancy in academia that deters any radical praxis for revolution. Addressing some key theoretical stances within the reform/revolution dyad, the paper argues that any criticism of " revolution in a linear future " is no easy approval for " reform in a static present " either. Also, replacing the " apocalyptic future " with the " here and now " of the progressive present is perhaps inadequate without critically reflecting on the " quality " of the " present ". This paper does not recommend any specific prescriptive means but outlines a speculative prospect of " here and now " for revolution. It critiques theoretical stances of a number of postcolonial and poststructuralist thinkers and argues that these stances eventually get appropriated within the hegemonic reform-based justice underpinning neoliberalism. It argues that using the work of Henry Lefebvre, David Harvey, and Doreen Massey, a spatiotemporal dialectic for revolution can be developed which in turn also embraces revolutionary visions of Alain Badiou. The paper explains how this dialectic reveals an inadequacy in the politics of reform and adjustment within theories of James C Scott, Michel de Certeau, Homi K Bhabha, Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze. It shows how liberal justice discourses that routinely promote reform in an attempt to misguide revolutionary potentials manage to find a comfort zone in the politics of difference. Specifically, the paper invests in the interstice between two types of theories to queer the longstanding reform-revolution dyad..